Pubdate: Mon, 19 Nov 2001
Source: Charleston Gazette (WV)
Copyright: 2001 Charleston Gazette
Contact:  http://www.wvgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77
Author: Lawrence Messina

U.S. ATTORNEY IS A SPECIAL FORCE

Kasey Warner Was Aide To Commander Of Elite Army Troops

Considering he advised the commandos who now hunt Osama bin Laden and the 
Taliban, Southern West Virginia's new chief federal prosecutor is a 
spectacularly fortuitous choice.

Perhaps none of the nation's 92 other incoming U.S. attorneys can match the 
training and background of Karl Kuldrian "Kasey" Warner, credentials made 
all too relevant by the Sept. 11 attacks.

"If you're a student of military history, you know that terrorists start 
this way," Warner said Friday. "The second step and third step is going to 
the heartland and getting into the hearts and minds of the people there."

Warner, 49, will be sworn in today at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse, 
less than a week after he wrapped up his duties at U.S. Special Operations 
Command.

For more than three years, Warner served as a key aide to the commander of 
the country's elite armed forces. As a staff judge advocate, Warner likely 
counseled some of the troops slipped into Afghanistan on the rules of 
engagement, the laws of war and the standards of military conduct.

Warner's service with the nation's "unconventional forces" may prove 
helpful in an era ushered in by terrorist attacks, anthrax fears and other 
possible dangers.

"I spoke with the attorney general, and his concerns are the ones in the 
newspaper: terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," Warner said. "It's a 
new kind of war."

As U.S. attorney, Warner will be the Justice Department's top official in 
West Virginia's southern federal court district. His office prosecutes 
criminal cases, aided by federal, state and local law enforcement. It also 
represents the U.S. government in civil matters.

The Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will shape 
Warner's policies and priorities as much as anything, he believes.

"I hope and pray that terrorism does not come to West Virginia, but I think 
I know differently," Warner said. "I lost friends in the Pentagon, so this 
is important to me."

With its rural population, insular college campuses and economic problems, 
the Mountain State resembles the sort of areas historically exploited by 
terrorist forces, Warner said.

"Nobody would suspect them in West Virginia," he said. "If you look at 
small colleges, what better place to raise money? That's a potential 
fertile ground for these people."

Warner stressed that he is aware of no specific threat against the state. 
He also realizes that his office must tackle matters besides homeland defense.

"[Attorney General John Ashcroft] is very concerned with drugs, especially 
drugs and young people," Warner said. "I believe we have a great problem 
with drugs."

After more than 27 years in the military and outside West Virginia, Warner 
also said that he has yet to set any specific agenda.

"I've consciously tried to shy away from coming up with a top-down approach 
and setting priorities at the onset," he said. "I think I need time to 
develop more of a bottom-up approach."

Warner has approached the veterans of his new office, other lawyers and 
even members of the press to gauge "the lay of the land" in Southern West 
Virginia.

Warner succeeds Rebecca Betts, a Clinton appointee who stepped down earlier 
this year. Warner considers Betts a longtime friend who performed well 
during her tenure.

"Rebecca Betts and I went to high school together at George Washington. I 
think the world of her," the 1970 GW graduate said. "I've done some 
intelligence work on this office, and I think I'm inheriting a great team."

Warner began his Army career with an appointment to the United States 
Military Academy at West Point after high school. He contrasts the sorts of 
patriotism he experienced then and now.

"You couldn't wear your uniform off-base," he recalled. "I remember once 
going to a football game at Boston College, and getting spit on by someone 
my age."

As an officer, Warner went to law school and afterward joined the 
military's judge advocate general corps. Lawyers play a surprisingly 
significant role in military affairs, he said.

"We review the battle plans and operational orders. We pass along the 
guidelines from above," said Warner, who rose to the rank of full colonel 
in the JAG corps. "We make sure the average soldier understands the rules 
of engagement, the laws of war, his legal environment."

In the mid-1990s, Warner served as such an adviser during Operation Uphold 
Democracy and Operation Restore Democracy, which upended the military coup 
in Haiti and restored its elected leader.

Warner's duties varied. He helped set up an impromptu court system meant to 
provide due process to jailed coup plotters. He even provided spot legal 
opinions for such mishaps as an American tank crushing a street vendor's cart.

Warner often found himself at the side of Major Gen. David Meade, who 
commanded the joint task force in Haiti. Warner now expects Meade among his 
guests at today's 1 p.m. ceremony.

Warner had long since accepted President Bush's offer of a federal 
appointment on Sept. 11. Still, he spoke wistfully of the current mission 
of his now-former command.

"There was a certain amount of guilt and reluctance to leave," he said. 
"You just don't want to walk away. I had the best job in the military."
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